Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith said Gov. Rick Scott has done a poor job leading the state during his first term and doesn't deserve another. Smith described the governor as back-pedaling on education by boosting funding after initially cutting school budgets.

“When he’s now throwing gimmicks and dollars at education when he came in and slashed education tremendously shows that he’s finally admitted that 'I was wrong to try to starve education,'" Smith said.

He went on to say that the governor's education policies appeared to be ploys to cull favor with voters leading into the 2014 election season. He used Scott’s proposal to give teachers across-the-board pay raises as a prime example. Smith said more money for teachers is always welcome, but Scott's decision seemed to be driving by politics.

“You look at the 3 percent we’ve taken the last two years, so when you get at this $2,500 dollars it’s not a net gain for teachers because of what he’s done in the past," Smith said. “To have this sudden epiphany to me reeks of election year is coming.”

About the blog

Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.